Sister Janet Staab, OSB
January 12, 1937 - January 5, 2017
God of all blessing,
you have freed our sister, Janet,
and given her fullness of life.
Her passing, though unexpected,
was as she would have wished it:
quiet, peaceful and unassuming.
Janet valued her independence
and desired to remain engaged in life.
A strong will and unwavering determination
sustained her through physical challenges
that left her body vulnerable but her spirit willing.
Ever faithful to her monastic commitment
Janet spent her final years resting in you, O God,
coming to terms with her increasing needs,
and praying for her family and her community,
to whom she was grateful
for every kindness shown her.
May we cherish the memory of this woman
whose courage and stamina allowed her to be
an example of fortitude and fidelity
in any and all situations. Amen.
Sister Janet Staab (formerly Sister Mary Joan), OSB, 79, and in the 61st year of religious life, died unexpectedly but peacefully on January 5, 2017, at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
A native of Oil City, Pennsylvania, Sister Janet was the daughter of Charles and Cecelia (Selker) Staab. She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Erie in 1955, pronounced first vows in 1956 and perpetual monastic vows in 1960, and most recently celebrated her Jubilee of 60 years in August, 2016.
Sister Janet held a B.S. in Elementary Education from Mercyhurst College and an M.A. in Elementary Math from Clarion State College. In addition to having spent 21 years in teaching in the Erie Diocese, both elementary and junior high, as well as CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes in parish schools in Sharon, Clarion, Oil City and Erie, Sister Janet spent some time in ministry with L’Arche Erie, a group that held a special place in her heart. Sister Janet, having worked as community chronicler for seven years, then served for almost 35 years as the Erie Benedictines’ archivist, a ministry to which she devoted much time, effort and care until retiring in 2014 when health issues prevented her from continuing.
Known for her strong will, Sister Janet’s unwavering determination sustained her through physical challenges that left her body vulnerable but her spirit willing.
Ever faithful to her monastic commitment Sister Janet spent her final years embracing the ministry of prayer and presence, coming to terms with her increasing physical limitations, being grateful to her family and her sisters in community for the kindnesses shown her, and remaining as engaged in life as possible.
In addition to her parents, Sister Janet was preceded in death by her brothers: Charles, Bernard, and Eugene, and her beloved Aunt Olivia. She is survived by her Benedictine community, her brother Joseph, her sisters, Mary Staab Alcorn and Margaret (Peg) Toscano, her sisters-in-law, Jacqueline Kraus Staab and Marilyn Staab, and many nieces and nephews and their children.
Services will take place at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery: Visitation, Monday, 2:00-7:00 p.m. and Tuesday, 2:00 -5:00 p.m., a Service of Memories on Monday at 7:00 p.m., and a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Interment will be on Wednesday at 8:15 a.m., Trinity Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, 6101 East Lake Road, Erie, Pennsylvania 16511. Brugger Funeral Homes and Crematory, Pine Avenue Branch, 845 East 38th Street, is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, 6101 East Lake Road, Erie, PA 16511. Click here to offer an online memorial.
